Should the cuckoo make its appearance before the leaves appear on the hawthorn bush, it is a sign of a dry, barren year.| Os cân y gôg ar ddrain-llwyn llwm|Gwerth dy geffyl a phryn dy bwn.|If the cuckoo sings on a hawthorn bare,|Sell thy horse, and thy pack prepare.|The Welsh words I heard at Llanuwchllyn, a good many years ago, just as the cuckoos voice was heard for the first time in those parts, and there were then no leaves out on the hedgerows. I do not recollect whether the prophecy became true, but it was an aged Welshman that made use of the words.The ditty applies to the low lands where there are hedgerows.

Find information on "Cuckoo Rhymes", and Birds and Beasts, in Llanuwchllyn Wales. Celtic and Welsh mythology and folklore in the Walesdirectory.co.uk.